Mercedes S-Class bought back by approved dealer in London - UK with compensation

mindmineral

Hi all,

I visit this forum from time to time and am posting this up in hope someone else benefits from my experience.

Below is a diary of events that forced Mercedes Benz to buy my car back in full and compensate me for the rental car I had to hire and road tax. I was living a nightmare at the time, but eventually got it sorted because I recorded as much of encounter down as possible, and had the support of some very good people.

There were a lot of attachments with my original letter of complaint, and am willing to share, however it will take a bit of time for me to redact etc. Please let me know if you are interested in seeing these.

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My letter of complaint:
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Xyz
abc
def

14/05/2015

Complaints Department
Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd
Delaware Drive
Milton Keynes
MK15 8BA


By email and post.


Dear sir/madam,


This is my official letter of complaint.

I am writing regarding the shocking level of customer service I received from one of your approved used car branches after I purchased an S-Class for £32,194.00. The branch in question is one “Mercedes-Benz Park Royal - Used Cars, North Circular Road, Park Royal, London, United Kingdom, NW10 7GA”.

My complaints are mainly about the manager there, his name is Lawrence Edwards. I have taken the liberty of writing up a diary of events and attaching it below. This diary refers to emails and audio recordings which I have also attached with this letter (either by DVD or an online link). Please read the diary and referring to the relevant attachments carefully in order to deal with my complaint efficiently.



Diary of events

Sun 01/02/15
Please review VehicleQuery.pdf, Deposit.pdf
Came to Mercedes-Benz Park Royal (PR) to look for a car, sat with Adel Ibrahim and discussed the different cars available for approximately an hour. I liked a car and Adel said the car could be delivered from Birmingham if I paid a deposit. He further went on to say that if the car was not as expected, the deposit would be refunded. I paid the deposit of £500.


Thurs 05/02/15
The car was delivered and ready to view in PR. Arrived at approx 4pm. Bought a friend who works as a mechanic called Mr. Munir with me to check the car.

Problematic issues were:
blotched patchwork on the boot
lumpy paintwork and scuffs on the drivers side quarter panel (DSQP)
the poor ignition and starting which were assumed to be glow plugs.

NOTE: We were not allowed to drive the car as the car did not have MOT.

Adel said that if there were any problems with the car after purchase, we could come back to get them sorted. I asked Adel to get the above issues sorted before I bought the car.


Wed 11/02/15
Please review Purchase.pdf, RoadTax.pdf
Arrived at PR at approx 2pm. I bought Mr. Munir with me again. Adel insisted everything had been done including a major service, however I insisted to quickly check the car over. Noticed that the car was highly polished, and we trusted noticeable issues such as the boot, and engine start seemed rectified. No thorough inspection was carried out, paid £31694.00.

Was told by Adel that he would be going on holiday from 12/02/15 and would be back on the 25/02/15. Took the outstanding paperwork and left with the car.


Thurs 12/02/15
One day after purchase, I noticed the DSQP was not repainted as agreed and there was mist in both front headlights. Texted Adel to inform him of issues, he replied by saying it was important I took the car in the following day and speak to Lawrence, the manager.


Fri 13/02/15
Called PR and asked to see if Lawrence was around. Was told he was away and booked an appointment with the receptionist to see him on 16/02/15 at 9:30am.

Mon 16/02/15
Arrived at 9:15am and was told he was in a meeting, and would need to wait for 20mins. I agreed as I had arrived slightly early to see him. 10:15 there was still no sign of Lawrence, so I queried the the receptionist again saying that I had been waiting 40-45mins after our agreed meeting time of 9:30am. I went to Lawrence's office to look for him, he seem surprised and said he forgot I was waiting. I sat down and spoke to him about the misty headlights, he explained that this was a common problem that occurred on the S-Classes and he even had it on his E-Class, replacing them the headlights would not even solve the problem. His solution was to leave the lights on all the time, not in auto mode to clear up the mist.

Also raised the issue of the DSQP and explained that the car was highly polished and wasn't noticed on purchase. He said he had to wait until Adel came back from holiday on the 25th. He said he would call me back to confirm if this was agreed or not. I asked how long the return period was and explained that the 2 week return period would run out if this issue did not get sorted before then. I asked if this loss in time would effect my right to return the car to which he replied time would not be a factor.

Please review Receipt 1.pdf
Fully filled up a the fuel tank.


Mon 23/02/15
At approx 9:30am, the engine management light (EML) came on. Went to see Mr. Munir at 10:30am.

Please review DASLA61DRZ.pdf
Diagnostic run on his DAS system.

At this stage the car had more than ¼ tank of fuel. Called PR to book appointment with Lawrence at 9:30am the following day on 24/02/15. 8 pm reserve light came on.

Tue 24/02/15
Arrived at PR at approx 9:25am, waited for several minutes and did not wait to be seen, so I went to Lawrence's office.

Please review Voice 001.mp3
Lawrence suggested EML was on because of low diesel and suggested I should fill up a full tank to clear the system. I showed him the receipt of my last fill up and then showed him the DAS diagnostic papers. He said to come in tomorrow at 9:30am for a diagnostic while I wait. I asked if it would be at PR but he did not respond.

When I left PR, I had a suspicion that the appointment was not going to be at PR. I called up approx 11am and asked Angelica the receptionist to ask Lawrence where I would need to go for the diagnostic, she told me to go to the After Sales Department on Victoria Road (VR), W3 6UU. She gave me the number 0208 896 1565 and said I would receive a phone call to confirm the appointment.

I called VR, but was told that the post code I was given was incorrect, and that I should go to W3 6UN.

Later in the day, I got a call from Adam in Manchester Mercedes Benz customer service. I explained the issues I was facing, but he did not take notice and told me the reason for his call was to explain the UK & Europe breakdown cover and how I would stay covered so long as I had my car serviced by Mercedes-Benz. He told me about the different service levels and how they should be done after 15,500 miles or yearly, and that there were 2 types of service, type A – Minor – approx 10,000 miles per year. Type B – major.

Please review MultiPointCheck.pdf
I asked him which service I had done, he told me type B - a major service.

Adam told me about costs, that a type A (minor) service was approx £285 – 320, and a type B (major) service was approx £410 – 470.


Please review Receipt 2.pdf
Filled up £30.01 diesel to see if that solved the EML issue – it did not.

Discovered additional problems with car such as:
Fog lights not working
Clicking sound from catalytic convertor area
Seat cushion not working

Wed 25/02/15
Went to VR as arranged by Lawrence for 9:30am, saw Iqbal. I explained the EML issue, he told me to go and come back while the diagnostic check took place. I explained I didn't have another car and Lawrence told me I could wait while it was being done. He said he would check with Mary and come back. He came back saying the diagnostic could be done while I wait but would take a little time. Iqbal returned to say diagnostic was carried out and that the EML light was caused by a faulty NoX sensor or the wire to it. I explained I wanted it fixed and that I would need a replacement car, he said it would be 2 weeks till the next courtesy car. He booked me in for 09/03/15 and asked me to bring both parts of license and my debit card.

Please review Voice 002.mp3
Adel had come back from holiday so I went to see him at PR. He told me that I should take the car for a free MOT at Yaashik motors myself. Up until this point I never knew I had been driving around without MOT.

I raised the issue of the DSQP. He said I should tell VR of all the problems and phone him once car was dropped off so he could sort the DSQP out, he then claimed the person who painted it probably forgot to do it. I said it was not his fault if he instructed him to do it and it never got done.

I also explained that I had discovered additional problems with car such as:
Fog lights not working
Clicking sound from Catalytic converter area
Seat cushion not working


Thur 26/02/15
Discovered even more problems:
Sunroof struggling to open / close
Rear seat not working
Door seal had come off from rear door driver side
Gas release sound


Mon 09/03/15
Arrived at VR at 9:30am. Not seen till 9:50am. Met Ketan and told him all the problems I had been experiencing. He seemed surprised and said that Adel would have told him about all of these issues prior to the car coming in. He said he would phone Adel to confirm these issues were to be fixed and then said that the warranty only covered all non-diagnostic issues with car.

Please review CourtesyCar1.pdf
Provided me with an A Class as a replacement car, I complained that it was not a like for like replacement but he said that this is all they had.

Please review email 1.pdf
I sent an email to Adel for the attention of Lawrence and listed all the problems I discovered with the car.


Tue 10/03/15
Paid £20 for diesel for the courtesy car.
Wed 11/03/15
Ketan from VR called me at 3.30pm. He said that he could not call me yesterday as he was too busy. He said no work has been carried out as nothing was authorised by Lawrence. I explained that I had sent an email to Adel on the 9th of March for the attention of Lawrence informing him of all the issues that needed sorting. I asked Ketan to speak directly to Adel. Ketan said that he only had 5 minutes to deal with me. I was surprised at his attitude.

I tried calling Lawrence or Adel at PR but was told by the receptionist that they were both away. I spoke to Ketan for a second time at 3.44pm and explained that I did not get through to either Adel or Lawewnce as they were away. Ketan demanded that he needed the car back today as it would not be insured. I asked what time they closed and he said at 6pm (in 2 hours time). I asked if he could get an extension on the insurance asked to speak to his manager, but he said he cannot as not as he was not authorised and that he would still need the car back today. I explained my children and I were unwell and was very upset that he had put me on the spot, so I had to arrange for care for them while I drove to VR.

Please review email 2.pdf
I emailed and texted Adel to call me back urgently.

Called PR and asked to speak to someone in charge, receptionist said no one responsible enough to sort my problem out except for Sales Manager called Kurt Gurnheart at Hemel Hempstead. Tried calling him, but was told he had moved to Park Royal, tried VR and PR and no one knew where he was.

Received a call from Adel at 4:30pm and explained that I was absolutely distressed. He said to write a complaint.

Please review Voice 003.mp3
Arrived and spoke to Ketan at VR. Ketan suggested I should get all the issues signed off in writing by Lawrence. I explained that I had to wait about 40 minutes to see Lawrence last time, that I was being treated very badly to highlight how reluctant I was to talk to Lawrence.


Thur 12/03/15
Spoke to Adel at 12pm, he said call in to PR to speak with Lawrence. Adel said that I should explain the situation and let him know I will be complaining to the Director. Adel said that if he cannot take my call, ask the receptionist to leave a message with him asking him to call me back ASAP.

I called PR and Angelica the receptionist said she would put me through. She came back on the line and said he would call me back once he had finished doing what he was doing. I asked to leave a message as Adel suggested, but Lawrence never called me back. It became even more apparent Lawrence was ignoring me.


Sat 14/03/15
Please review Voice 004.mp3
I called Lawrence. He said that the DSQP was not going to be repainted and that we would discuss it after mechanical issues were sorted. I was expecting a call back to tell me when to bring the car in to resolve the mechanical issues, however no one called back.


Fri 20/02/15
I spoke to Mr. Iqbal and explained the situation to him. He called and after asking the receptionist to speak to Lawrence, was kept on hold and then told that Lawrence was unavailable. Mr. Iqbal told the receptionist to tell Lawrence to become available and then got put through straight away.Mr Iqbal asked Lawrence why no one had called me to book the car in as of yet as it had been 6 days now. After they finished their call, Ketan from VR called me and proposed the next available courtesy car was going to be available on 01/04/15, i.e. after 2 weeks.

Mr. Iqbal called back Lawrence and asked him to give in writing that my car could be driven with the Engine Management Light on for an additional 2 weeks, but Lawrence refused.

Mr. Iqbal then complained to Bethnie at Customer Service (01908 245 000). I provided a rough account of what had happened then Mr. Iqbal took over the call. Lawrence then called back asking me to bring the car in on Tuesday 24th March, i.e. after 4 days.


Tues 24/03/15
Please review CourtesyCar2.pdf
I took S Class to VR and was surprised to see Adel Ibrahim there. Adel at first said he was going to give me his ML Class. He went on to explain that Lawrence could have agreed to sort this problem out from the very beginning but then it had to go through the general manager. He explained that the general manager was newly appointed about 6 months ago and specifically told Lawrence to find a car for me as soon as head office gave him a call.

He asked me if I would recommend him to someone else to which I said no. He explained that if customer service falls below 95%, he would get into trouble. He then went on to say that they were without a general manager for 7-8 months, and that it would take time for him to get things sorted, however the first thing the general manager told Lawrence was to sort out all the customer issues so they could get rid of the headaches and start with a clean slate.

I was shocked to discover that I had received another A Class, and not the ML Adel was talking about.


Mon 30/03/15
Shezel from Head Office (HO) called, I asked her to speak to Mr. Iqbal as he was at the time handling the complaint. I informed Mr. Iqbal that someone from HO would be calling and that I was extremely upset about the replacement A Class as well as the serious inconvenience caused by having 2 hours notice to return it. I explained that I was beyond frustrated and just wanted a refund now as I had lost all confidence in Mercedes-Benz.

After Mr. Iqbal's conversation with Shezel, he called me to inform me of what was discussed. He said that Shezel was not helping the situation, she was just apologising for the poor service and said that any refund would have to be taken up with the dealer directly. Mr. Iqbal advised me to speak to Lawrence at PR to book an appointment to discuss immediately.

Please review email 3.pdf
This was the email sent by HO to Mr. Iqbal.

I called Lawrence at 16:54pm to explain Mr. Iqbal had spoken to head office and that I wanted to book an appointment for the next day to discuss refund as it had been 6 days and I still had not heard back from VR. Lawrence said no refund was possible and that he was surprised that no one had called me to let me know the car was ready to be picked up. He said that I should come in about a weeks time on 06/04/15 to see what could be done to “make me happy”. I said this was outrageous, that nothing he could offer me would make me happy and all I wanted was a refund.

I explained that had I known of this level of customer service, I would never have bought a car from them. I further went on to say that I parted with £32,000 in good faith with a Used-Approved Mercedes-Benz dealer so I could get a car which was well maintained, would have no serious problems, and that in the event it did I was covered by 1 years warranty which was now blatantly being out stretched as I kept getting put to one side and not being taken care of. I stressed that these delay tactics were making my rights more and more obsolete.

I explained I lost all confidence in Mercedes-Benz, especially as the car was mis-sold to me and that there was no way Adel would have authorised a paint job unless Lawrence authorised it. He said the matter of the paint would be left once the car was back, I reiterated that I just wanted a refund as I was seriously distressed and upset. I said that I would come today if tomorrow was not convenient and arrange for someone to take care of my children. He said not to come because tomorrow he would be doing accounts for the end of the month. He requested that I come on Thursday 02/04/15 to discuss what could happen next.


Thu 02/04/15
I went to PR at approx 1:45pm with my children. Reiterated how unhappy I was and that I wanted to give the car back. He said a refund was only possible in extreme circumstances and that no one ever got one. I explained the level of inconvenience this had caused me, how the out stretching of time would diminish my rights, and that I did not trust him anymore. I asked for some compensation in terms of the warranty I had lost out on. He then casually offered me 2 months extra warranty and a free service. He assured me that when the car was back he would see what could be done to win my trust back. I said I would think about it.


Tue 07/04/15
Ketan from VR called @ 16:06
He told me the S class is ready and that he was going to send the S Class to sales. He asked when I would like to go down but I said I would have to call back to give a time as I was very busy. He said that Lawrence wouldn't be in tomorrow and that I would need to give him a time. I said I could not.


Thur 09/04/15
Please review Voice 005.mp3
Went to PR at 12pm with Mr. Munir.

Noticed the car was still not finished, noticeable damage to one of the wheels that was caused whilst with Mercedes-Benz, and also noticed the paint issue had still not been sorted. After discussing the matter, Lawrence said he would not be giving an extension on the warranty. He told us to give the courtesy car back, however Mr. Munir explained the work had not been finished on the S class. Mr. Munir asked why he was being unreasonable and that he would have to finish the work on the car before we could give the courtesy car back. Mr. Munir asked if he would report the car stolen to the police, to which he eventually said “of course we would, it will have a worse affect for you than us”.

Received a call from Lawrence later that day at 13:57 offering one of the following, a free service, or an extended warranty, or they would buy the car back. I did not agree or acknowledge anything but asked for this in writing via email.

Please review email 4.pdf, email 5.pdf, email 6.pdf


Fri 10/04/15
Please review email 7.pdf, Voice 006.mp3

I arrived at PR 2:45pm. Car was purchased back by Lawrence and said the car would be paid for within 3 days. Lawrence said GAP insurance would not be paid for by PR so I would need to go to Auto Protect MBI Ltd directly to get refund.

Please review email 8.pdf, UsedVehicleOrder.pdf, PurchaseInvoiceMB.pdf.
Called Auto Protect MBI Ltd (AP) and spoke to Charly @ 16:05. She asked me to send them an email and they would respond.

Thu 16/04/15
Please review email 9.pdf
7 days after Lawrence bought the car, it is still not paid for, email sent and Lawrence replied back on the same day.


Mon 20/04/15
Please review email 10.pdf
10 days after Lawrence bought the car and it is STILL not paid for. I contacted my solicitor and had to threaten Lawrence with legal action if car not paid for within 48 hours.


Tue 21/04/15
Please review email 11.pdf, email 12.pdf, email 13.pdf, ReceiptMB.pdf
11 days after Lawrence bought the car.
9:50am Imran from accounts called and asked me to write my bank account details on an email before they could transfer the money.


Thu 30/04/15
Please review email 15.pdf
Wrote email to Lawrence regarding the log book as this would delay the refund on the road tax. He replied the same day saying he would get his team on it.


Wed 06/05/15
Please review AutoProtect.pdf
Received a letter from AP saying the admin fees were waived, and I would be issued with a full refund by the dealer. The problem was that the cheque was made payable to Auto Protect MBI Ltd and signed for by Mrs A Rea and Mr J Rea.

Called AP and spoke to Jodie at approximately 1:35pm, was kept on hold for 7mins. I hung up and called back at approx 1:45pm, explained the situation again to Zoe/Charly who said they would get someone from the Gap department to call me back.


Fri 08/05/15
Please review email 16.pdf
Called AP, spoke to Charly. I explained that I hadn't received a call back and that the cheque was not in my name. Charly spoke to her manager, and came back asking who the cheque was written to, by and proof of it. I sent an email with the picture of cheque

Called the DVLA, explained no cheque received. They said write a letter of disposal to them explaining situation. Letter sent.



Wed 13/05/15
3:53pm - Spoke to Imran from PR, he said he was away from the office and was confused as to what I was owed. I explained I was expecting the refund from DVLA and the Gap insurance. He said he would find out what was happening.

3:59 – Spoke to Simon Tansley. He wanted clarification on who the cheque was issued by and to whom. I said I would email him a copy.


Thu 14/05/15
Please review email 17.pdf
Email to Simon sent with attachment and whom the cheque should be payable to and for how much.



Please also review cards.pdf

These are the people representing your company. In my opinion, this level of customer service is shocking and unacceptable for these reasons:

1) they mis-sell products,
2) they use deception and/or trickery to sell products,
3) they use delay tactics to out stretch warranty.

I would now like to know how you are going to handle my complaint, and what the outcome will be.

I have financially lost out as I had to hire a car because of Mr Edwards' 11 day-delay in payment after purchasing the S Class back from me. I have also lost out in the delay of informing the DVLA of the change of owner entitling me to a refund on road tax, and I am still waiting on a refund for the Gap insurance. I have wasted my time because of this matter which is something I will never get back. This ordeal has affected my personal life due to the amount of distress and inconvenience it has caused amongst my family, and has also affected my professional life as a director of a company, and the need to be constantly mobile. I am still having my time wasted wrapping up this issue and have not been able to purchase a replacement car. Lawrence Edwards has not even given me the courtesy of an official apology.

The only reason I initially came to the approved used Mercedes-Benz dealer was because I thought I could trust the “Mercedes-Benz” name. I hoped that by paying £8,000 above the going rate I would receive a certain level of customer service. I am a realistic person and accept that buying a second hand car carries its own risks where anything serious would be covered by warranty. However, the extremely poor level of customer service I received one day after I bought the car is something I did not expect.

I feel compelled to report this to the relevant authorities such as trading standards in order to stop this from happening to other people, however I want to wait to see what you have to say and how you will deal with this.



Yours faithfully,





xyz

cell: 123
home: 456
email: xyz@xyz.com

mindmineral

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Response from MB 1
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Dear xyz,

Thank you for taking my call earlier today in regards to your complaint regarding the recent poor experience relating to your purchase of the above vehicle, and the subsequent issues after we purchased the vehicle back from you.

As I said during our telephone conversation I am, personally very sorry that Mercedes-Benz Park Royal did in no way deliver the level of service you would expect from us and that members of my team did not deal with the subsequent issues in an acceptable manner.

As discussed I will be investigating the comments from your complaint with the relevant members of my team, but as explained I will be unable to share any internal staff issues with you, but please be assured that I take your complaint very seriously.

I have raised a cheque for £205 to cover the full cost of the road fund license , although you will receive a refund from the DVLA. My colleague Mohamed Imran will deliver this cheque to your home address this evening.

If you could kindly send me a copy of the invoice for the vehicle that you had to hire while waiting payment from us , I will look at contributing towards this cost, as a gesture of goodwill in light of the inconvenience you have incurred and the poor level of customer service.

As promised I will contact you Friday, in regards to my investigations,

Again, my sincere apologies,

Kind Regards,

Kurt

Kurt Gunthardt
General Manager
Mercedes-Benz Park Royal

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Response from MB 2
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xyz
abc
def

22/05/2015

By E-mail and Post


Dear xyz,

RE: Mercedes-Benz S350, Registration Number LA61DRZ

Further to your letter of complaint, dated 14/05/2015 and our subsequent telephone conversation on Tuesday 19/05/2015 I now write to advise you that I have now carried out my investigations in to your complaint regarding the poor service you received throughout your dealings with Mercedes-Benz Park Royal relating to your purchase of the above vehicle in February 2015.

I have discussed, in detail the issues you experienced and the level of service delivered with Lawrence Edwards, my Sales Manager and Adel Ibrahim your Sales Executive as I believe that both, to varying degrees, contributed to the issues and poor service you received. Both Lawrence and Adel fully accept that they did not deal with your concerns in an appropriate or timely matter and that had the issues been dealt with in a more professional manner the inconvenience and upset caused to you could have been avoided. Lawrence accepts that he did not handle your complaint in a way expected from an employee of Mercedes-Benz and is very sorry that you did not receive the level of service we strive to deliver to all our customers. As discussed during our telephone conversation, I am unable to discuss any internal staff matters with you, but hope you will be assured that your complaint has been taken very seriously.

During my investigations it also became apparent that some of our process’s in regards to ensuring vehicles are delivered to our customers in a condition they would expect from Mercedes-Benz are not as robust as they should be , and also our communication with our After Sales department when issues arise needs to be reviewed. I am currently reviewing these two areas to try and ensure that the issues you have unfortunately experienced do not happen in the future.

As we discussed on Tuesday, if you could provide me with a copy of the invoice for the vehicle you had to hire whilst waiting to receive your refund I would be more than happy, as a gesture of goodwill and as an apology, to look to reimburse you for this cost and will raise a cheque once I have received the invoice. I understand the GAP refund has been actioned and that you have already received the refund for the road fund license.

I would, again, like to say sorry to you for the way in which your issues were dealt with and hope that the above goes someway to restoring your confidence in our Brand.

Please feel free to contact me on the number below or by e-mail to kurt.gunthardt@daimler.com if you wish to discuss further. In the meantime I await the invoice for the hire vehicle.


Yours Sincerely,


Kurt Gunthardt
General Manager

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Follow up letter
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xyz
abc
def

27/05/2015

Mercedes-Benz Retail Used Cars
North Circular Road
Park Royal
London
NW10 7GA

By email and post.


Dear Mr Gunthardt,

RE: Mercedes_Benz S350, LA61 DRZ

Thank you for your letter dated 22/05/2015 as well as your telephone call.

After reading your letter, I am glad you are taking my complaint seriously as this level of service should not be accepted by anyone. As a director of a company myself, providing a high level of customer service is a priority. If we ever gave a poor level of customer service, I would sincerely hope and be grateful if someone would advise me as I did you. A true reflection of my gratitude would be that the advice given would be taken seriously, and something would be done about it to avoid it from happening in the future. On several occasions I tried to express my concerns to Lawrence Edwards, however it ended up with me having to write a 12 page complaint before I was finally taken seriously. Hopefully, no one else will have to experience what I did.

I appreciate you cannot discuss any internal matters with me, however if you would like any further clarification to my points in my letter of complaint, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Mercedes-Benz have some great cars and it would be unjust of me to hold this experience against the brand. Hopefully I will buy another Mercedes-Benz at some stage, but would be reluctant to come back to this particular branch.

Thank you for taking the time to read my initial letter, refund the GAP insurance and the road fund license. I am attaching a copy of the vehicle hire invoice as requested. I hope you succeed in your efforts to rectify the issues faced at Park Royal.

Yours sincerely,



xyz

cell: 123
home: 456
email: xyz@xyz.com

macman

I only got as far as the first para of your complaint letter. But, in summary, you paid £32K for a secondhand car (apparently worth only £24K) that you had not even seen, and were then surprised that it had some faults?

dannyrst

Newbies take note. This is the level of detail you should take when buying a car.

musafir05

Damn son, that was one hell of a post. Glad things worked out. :money:

LadyDee

Good grief! There's more?

C_Mababejive

One thing i cant bear is a car dealer or indeed any company who promises x/y/z to clinch a deal only to find that once its all signed, they dont keep their word. With this kind of money changing hands one would hope for better?

bigjl

£32k for an S Class that has had paint?

First port of call would be the MOT database to find out if it had six monthly MOTs as a tatty 3yr old S Class spells owner driver Chauffeur vehicle to me.

That is top money for a 61plate aswell.

The fact the car was registered in London (LA) but was being sold in Birmingham also raises a red flag. As it is again common for London based owner drivers to sell their cars away from London.

The ticking from the exhaust is normal as metal expands when it is hot.

At least you got your money back

For £30k you can get a lowing mileage S350D lwb at CarGiant on a 13plate which still has plenty of manufacturers warranty.

Or speak to Ethos Finance as they can sell you a brand new E220 Cdi for £27k, they primarily deal with Chauffeurs but will sell to private individuals.

They can also get you a brand new XJL for £49k and an A8L for about the same.

Even a brand new S Class can be had for mid £50k

peter12345678910

glad it worked out,

a long read though

PCMcGarry

bigjl wrote: »

£32k for an S Class that has had paint?

First port of call would be the MOT database to find out if it had six monthly MOTs as a tatty 3yr old S Class spells owner driver Chauffeur vehicle to me.

That is top money for a 61plate aswell.

The fact the car was registered in London (LA) but was being sold in Birmingham also raises a red flag. As it is again common for London based owner drivers to sell their cars away from London.

The ticking from the exhaust is normal as metal expands when it is hot.

At least you got your money back

For £30k you can get a lowing mileage S350D lwb at CarGiant on a 13plate which still has plenty of manufacturers warranty.

Or speak to Ethos Finance as they can sell you a brand new E220 Cdi for £27k, they primarily deal with Chauffeurs but will sell to private individuals.

They can also get you a brand new XJL for £49k and an A8L for about the same.

Even a brand new S Class can be had for mid £50k

Would a six monthly mot show up on the mot database?

There's no legal requirement for one, if it's been used for private hire it will have been done at a taxi office and these are held locally and not put on to a database.

Taxis older than three years old show up as no mot on the police national computer.

Somewhere along its history that car has been without an mot for a period of time.

happyc84

well done for reaching an outcome that was right for you.

My last 4 cars were bought brand new, (50% of the cost is covered by business mileage)...
One of the cars was white body with a black roof, however the original spec was meant to be all white. They blamed a typo error.

Your right that they promise the earth to get your money, then you watch them disappear when you have a problem.

What will be your preferred car choice now?